I can't wait to see what Doug Pederson cooks up with the 2 TE sets including Kirk, personally. I don't believe Kirk's and Engram's skillsets actually disparage one another.

Watching Kirk's 2021 cut-ups he does indeed run a solid number of vertical routes from the slot. (He runs plenty of stuff that requires some "agility" to make good breaks and get open too, but that's a different convo) His ability to get open deep from the slot make him interesting as a complement to multiple TE sets because he'll help clear out space for the TE's and backs to get open underneath whenever he draws safety help. If the Y position is occupied by a TE, Kirk can absolutely still have this same effect for the offense by running the vertical route from the Z position instead of the Y.
In fact, I saw him run deep from the Z in the Rams game against our newly acquired DB and convert with a catch on the sideline.
Will he be less effective getting open running verts from the Z instead of the Y? I hope we get to find out. I don't think he'll struggle much from the Z if they use him there sparingly and strategically - and at the least should help clear an area of the field for TE/RB receiving routes.

I think 12 personnel sets with the Z and X on one side of the formation together could be a cool thing to be creative with given our roster. Especially if we land an X in the draft that can contribute at a "solid" level in year one.

I also don't think the statistics being quoted in this and other threads regarding Kirk's (lack of) production from X or Z take in to account the personnel and play calling factors around him enough to paint an accurate picture of his ability to be versatile.
He should absolutely be featured in the slot, but to assume he can't produce outside of the Y position is a step too far for me based on all the cut-ups I've watched the past two days. (about 20 games)

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